Pritchett Canyon Trail

Sponsored by

HARRISON TOWING

4X4 Tow Truck for Off-Road Towing - 24 Hour Service

Summary: The 4+ rated Pritchett Canyon trail is one of the toughest in the Moab area. Most of its very difficult obstacles have no bypasses and the trail is getting even more difficult every year. Pritchett Canyon is deep, steep walled and beautiful.

Location: Pritchett Canyon is just a short drive southwest of Moab along the east bank of the Colorado River. It lies south of the Moab Rim trail with the Behind the Rocks Wilderness Study Area between it and the Moab Rim face that dominates the Moab landscape to the southwest of town. The trail head is about a 4.5 mile drive down Kane Creek Road from it's intersection with Highway 191 near McDonald's. The trail head is inside a campground. The campground operator has been charging $2 per vehicle to access the trail head through his campground.

Scenery: Colorful, deep, sculptured canyon walls provide picturesque views throughout the Canyon.

The Trail: The trail is only about 3 miles long but another 17 miles of driving on the rough County road will be required to get back to Highway 191 at a point about 13 miles southeast of Moab. The trail stays near the usually dry creek bottom and crosses it several times. Years of erosion of the original roadway have exposed bedrock steps that compose the major obstacles. This erosion continues and the trail gets even more challenging each year. A drop off a rock ledge on the way in requires a careful line to avoid laying your 4x4 on its side. Next is a double rock step which is the only major obstacle with a bypass. Farther up an optional obstacle in the rock floor has been eroded out by millennia of water flows. Just after that is the broken rock steps of Rocker Knocker where some vehicles will need a strap or winch as there is no bypass. Just before the Rock Pile is another unnamed obstacle which is getting more and more challenging each year. The Rock Pile is a ledge that is so steep and tall that a pile of rocks is required just to be able to get your tires on it. Many 4X4s including those with large tires and lockers will be looking for something to strap or winch to to get up this obstacle. The trick is to get someone up so the rest can winch or strap to them. Yellow Hill at the top of the Canyon completes the Pritchett Canyon trail. Yellow Hill is rugged and uneven with lots of yellow but many other colors too. Just above Yellow Hill you start down again on progressively easier road until Highway 191 is reached about 17 miles later.

4X4NOW Same Day
Jeep Safari Trail Report
Friday, March 28, 1997

Pritchett is still the toughest 4WD trail around Moab. As it continues to weather, unnamed obstacles get more and more treacherous.

The step the trail drops down over near the beginning is now called the Big Nasty. The ledges are cut so that the driver's tire drops off before the passenger's tire creating an unnerving lean toward the drop-off to the dry creek bed. Here, Trail Leader Dan Brown leads the group down.

This deep mud hole always seems to be wet, even during long periods without rain. It may be fed by an underground spring. It keeps getting bigger and there is just barely enough room to get by between the tree and growing mud hole.

The first major obstacle in Pritchett still does not have a name. The "easy" way gets your glass and sheet metal uncomfortably close to the huge rock that juts out on your right side. This obstacle claimed the the first break down of the day - a broken rear output shaft. The 4X4 had to be strapped back to the county road. This is the only major obstacle in Pritchett than can be bypassed.

Pritchett's "bath tub" is an optional side obstacle the is included more and more often in trail runs. See a Quick Time video clip of this run through Pritchett's Bath Tub.

Within site of Pritchett's bath tub is the Rocker Knocker which cannot be bypassed. It took some time to work through this as a substantial percentage of the group had to take the strap. The 4X4 in the picture is not on the correct line and did not make it up on this try. The lifted tire does allow for a good view of the obstacle underneath though. See a Quick Time video clip of a clean run up the Rocker Knocker.

Another unnamed obstacle between Rocker Knocker and the Rock Pile is getting more and more treacherous. Most drivers used to stay down low instead of up on the rock - but that area has eroded so badly bad that the reverse was true on our run.

The Rock Pile was hungry today. It broke our trail leader and one of our gunners. Shown here is "Dirty" Dan at the exact moment he dropped his rear drive shaft. He was on front wheel drive with an occasional strap the rest of the day. The gunner popped both front hubs on the obstacle. See a Quick Time video clip of a successful run up the Rock Pile.

Last is Yellow Hill which is also getting worse and giving some members of our group a struggle.

Once we topped Pritchett Canyon we had another hour and a half of dirt roads before reaching the highway. It was dark when we got back to town.

1999 Pritchett Canyon Report
1996 Pritchett Canyon Report

34th Annual Easter Jeep Safari (2000)
33rd Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1999)
32nd Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1998)
31st Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1997)
30th Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1996)
Moab, Utah, 4WD Trails Map with Links to all 30 Trails
Trail Difficulty Ratings

Utah Trail Guidebooks, Trail Maps, and Trail Videos

4X4NOW Feature Page
4X4NOW Trail Reports | Moab 4WD Trails
4X4NOW "How-To"  | 4X4NOW Buildups
4X4BOOKS | MAPNOW

get Garmin at GPSNOW - Order by 5pm and have it Tomorrow!
Choosing | for Laptop/Pocket PC | Basic | Handheld Mapping | 2-way Radio | Automotive | Motorcycle | RV/Truck/Bus | Land & Water
Accessories
eTrex H | Legend | Vista | Venture HC | Summit HC | Legend HCx | Vista HCx
GPS 18 DLX | 60
Mobile 10 | Mobile 10 for smartphones
GPSMAP 60 | 60Cx | 60CSx | 76S | 76Cx | 76CSx | 276C | 376C | 378 | 478
MapSource City Navigator North America | US Topo | BlueChart
nüvi 200 | 270 | 350 | 360 | 370 | 650 | 660 | 670 | 680
Quest | Quest 2
Rino 110 | 120 | 130 | 520 | 530 | 520HCx | 530HCx
StreetPilot 2820 | 7200/7500 | c330 | c340 | c530 | c550 | c580
Astro GPS dog tracking system
zūmo 450 / 550
© 4X4NOW